The Senate confirmed Betsy DeVos as the secretary of Education after, for the first time in U.S. history, Vice President Pence broke the Senate's tie vote in her nomination.
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United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos visits with students at Everglades City School on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. DeVos also visited Pinecrest Elementary School in Immokalee on her tour.(Photo: Dorothy Edwards/Naples Daily News)Buy Photo

Two members of President Donald Trump's Cabinet visited Everglades City on Friday to tour the small town that's still reeling one month after it was ravaged by Hurricane Irma.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos spoke with students at Everglades City School while Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke got a firsthand look at damage the storm wrought at the Gulf Coast Visitor Center of Everglades National Park.

The separate and seemingly uncoordinated visits were remarkable for the level of attention they brought to the fishing and tourist town, where the mayor estimates two-thirds of homes are damaged or destroyed.

In her unexpected visit, DeVos spent the morning touring the school in Everglades City, where Irma caused severe flood damage and left at least 44 students and three teachers homeless.

United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos visits with students at Everglades City School on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. DeVos also visited Pinecrest Elementary School in Immokalee on her tour.(Photo: Dorothy Edwards/Naples Daily News)

The U.S. Department of Education has been looking into aiding Florida and Texas schools with disaster relief through a federal program called Project School Emergency Response to Violence (SERV).

The program is intended to help school communities recover from traumatic events.

The most recent grant was awarded to the San Bernardino City Unified School District for $70,000 after the April 2017 murder-suicide that left one child and two adults dead.

The last time Project SERV responded to a natural disaster was in September 2016 after severe flooding in Louisiana. The state received $1.5 million to fund relief efforts.

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United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos walks through Everglades City School on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. DeVos also visited Pinecrest Elementary School in Immokalee on her tour.(Photo: Dorothy Edwards/Naples Daily News)

DeVos spokeswoman Elizabeth Hill said the U.S. Department of Education is waiting to hear from Florida and Texas education departments about their districts’ needs and thus a dollar amount has not yet been set to aid Florida and Texas schools.

The U.S. Department of Education plans to allot funds to the Florida Department of Education, which then will decide how to distribute aid to districts, Hill said.

Project SERV operates on a $5 million budget and will not be affected by Trump’s proposed $9 billion cut to the education budget.

“They are getting things done and acting immediately and with urgency,” she said. “The last thing we want to have happen is to have anything bureaucratic impede their efforts.”

Collier Schools Superintendent Kamela Patton said she “absolutely” believes the education secretary will follow through on her plans to support the school community.

Patton spent the morning with DeVos in Everglades City as well as the afternoon touring Pinecrest Elementary School in Immokalee. There, at least 19 students were displaced by the hurricane and many more are barely scraping by. Immokalee is a small farming community and the hurricane destroyed many crops and fields, leaving a large number of parents unemployed.

Patton said she was glad the secretary made time to see the destruction first-hand as well as the ongoing difficulties the district is facing.

“Just because the kids are back doesn’t mean they’re mentally and physically all set to be back,” she said.

In her conversations with the secretary, Patton said, she emphasized both the important role of charter schools and Collier's value as a traditional public school district. Patton noted the district rose from 33rd in 2011 to fifth this year in state rankings.

DeVos, a Michigan billionaire, has been widely criticized for her role in expanding charter schools and voucher programs at the expense of public schools, as well as for her lack of experience working in schools.

During the visit, DeVos took time to interact with students and parents.

Everglades City School second-grader Jack Snyder told DeVos he had survived the hurricane but that his house had flooded.

“That is such a bummer,” the secretary replied.

Angela Nicholson, whose 2-year-old nephew attends Everglades City School and spent time playing with DeVos, said it was a “cool and exciting” experience to have the education secretary visit her small community.

“It means a lot,” she said. “It shows she cares and has interest in our little town and our school.”

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United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos visits with students at Everglades City School on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. DeVos also visited Pinecrest Elementary School in Immokalee on her tour. Dorothy Edwards/Naples Daily News

United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos visits with students at Everglades City School on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. DeVos also visited Pinecrest Elementary School in Immokalee on her tour. Dorothy Edwards/Naples Daily News

United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos walks through Everglades City School on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. DeVos also visited Pinecrest Elementary School in Immokalee on her tour. Dorothy Edwards/Naples Daily News

A drawing by a student at Everglades City School during a visit from United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. DeVos also visited Pinecrest Elementary School in Immokalee on her tour. Dorothy Edwards/Naples Daily News

United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos draws with with students at Everglades City School on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. DeVos also visited Pinecrest Elementary School in Immokalee on her tour. Dorothy Edwards/Naples Daily News

United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is greeted by Collier County Superintendent Dr. Kamela Patton, left, and Everglades City School Principal Jim Ragusa at Everglades City School on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. DeVos also visited Pinecrest Elementary School in Immokalee on her tour. Dorothy Edwards/Naples Daily News

United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos visits with students at Everglades City School on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. DeVos also visited Pinecrest Elementary School in Immokalee on her tour. Dorothy Edwards/Naples Daily News

United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is greeted at Pinecrest Elementary School in Immokalee on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. DeVos also visited Everglades City School on her tour. Dorothy Edwards/Naples Daily News

United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos visits a classroom at Pinecrest Elementary School in Immokalee on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. DeVos also visited Everglades City School on her tour. Dorothy Edwards/Naples Daily News

United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos hands out snack packs to students at Pinecrest Elementary School in Immokalee on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. DeVos also visited Everglades City School on her tour. Dorothy Edwards/Naples Daily News

United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos draws with second grader Rylee Mayberry at Everglades City School on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. DeVos also visited Pinecrest Elementary School in Immokalee on her tour. Dorothy Edwards/Naples Daily News

United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos visits with students and parents at Everglades City School on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. DeVos also visited Pinecrest Elementary School in Immokalee on her tour. Dorothy Edwards/Naples Daily News

United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos yours the damaged gymnasium at Everglades City School on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. DeVos also visited Pinecrest Elementary School in Immokalee on her tour. Dorothy Edwards/Naples Daily News

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On the heels of DeVos' visit, Zinke toured the Gulf Coast Visitor Center at Everglades National Park and had a sandwich with park rangers under a picnic pavilion.

Calling it a "no-brainer," Zinke said he supported the idea of tearing down the yellow wooden-sided visitor center, which housed a park gift shop and boat concession visited by more than 200,000 people every year.

"We will build it better than before," he said.

In a stop earlier Friday at Big Cypress National Preserve in eastern Collier County, Zinke lauded Interior Department employees' response to Irma.

"There's story after story after story of their personal homes being destroyed and they were out there still doing their duty," Zinke said. "There's a lot of sacrifice that I think needs to be recognized within the Interior."

National parks advocates have worried that repairs from Irma will further set back efforts to bridge a maintenance backlog at national parks in the U.S. Southeast, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands of $400 million to $600 million. Nationwide, the backlog is estimated at more than $11 billion.

"Clearly, we need to catch up," Zinke said.

The National Parks and Conservation Association this week called for Zinke to use his visit to Florida to propose hurricane relief funding for damaged parks.

When asked about emergency funding, Zinke was noncommittal, instead citing his plan to spend up to half of annual federal proceeds from oil and gas drilling on the backlog.

"There are two things the government must fund: the military and parks," said Zinke, a former Montana congressman and Navy SEAL. "The rest is up for discussion."

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Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing on the proposed 2020 budget for the Education Department on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, March 28, 2019. Secretary DeVos has taken criticism for a budget cut of 18 million dollars for the Special Olympics. SHAWN THEW, EPA-EFE

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos speaks at a news conference following a visit to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the aftermath of a Feb. 14 mass shooting at the school, March 7, 2018, in Coral Springs, Fla. Lynne Sladky, AP

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos acknowledges National Teacher of the Year Mandy Manning, a teacher at the Newcomer Center at Joel E. Ferris High School in Spokane, Wash., during a the the National Teacher of the Year reception in the East Room of the White House in Washington, May 2, 2018. Carolyn Kaster, AP

Betsy DeVos and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) participate in an event about their proposal for Education Freedom Scholarships at the Education Department headquarters Feb. 28, 2019 in Washington, DC. According to the department, the scholarships will be funded with $5 billion of federal tax credit for donations to scholarships for private schools and other educational programs. Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos watches as H.G. Olsen Elementary School third-graders Torres Conrad (left), 8, and Stratton Mills, 8, play a counting game during class during a visit to Port Aransas, Texas on November 15, 2017. The visit was to see firsthand the ongoing rebuilding and recovery in the wake of Hurricane Harvey and to assess how the Department of Education could continue to coordinate and support the state, schools and students. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times via USA TODAY NETWORK

Vice President Pence and DeVos participate in a listening session with the historically black colleges and universities at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Feb. 27, 2017. Manuel Balce Ceneta, AP

Following a gubernatorial debate, Republican candidate Dick DeVos shares a moment with his wife, Betsy, before meeting with the press on Oct. 16, 2006 in the studio of WXYZ in Southfield, Mich. Regina H. Boone, Detroit Free Press